Earlier this month Coca-Cola Co. gave a huge boost (60% at one point) to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters’ share price when it took a 10% stake in the company. Looking at Coke’s latest results, investors are hoping Green Mountain can return the favor.

Coke’s fourth quarter numbers shows how hard growing the global soft drink business can be. Revenue fell 3.6% to $11 billion. Analysts had been looking for $11.3 billion. That’s the main reason Coke’s
shares were down more than 4% Tuesday, the biggest decliner on the Dow Jones Industrial Average djia
.

For anyone long Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
through its after-hours trading halt, those nerve-wracking minutes could be some of the sweetest they\’ll see in a long time.

Green Mountain and Coca-Cola
announced a 10-year deal to \”collaborate on the development and introduction of The Coca-Cola Company’s global brand portfolio for use in GMCR’s forthcoming Keurig Cold at-home beverage system.\”

Coffee, meet Coke. A Vermont coffee roaster, whose claim to fame is its Keurig counter-top, single-cup brewing machine, teams up with the biggest soda company in the world, tapping into the mega-marketing and distribution clout behind it.

Perhaps you see limited upside as the S&P 500
bumps up against 1,700. Or maybe you at least think there’s pain ahead for some high flyers, including highly shorted, so-called battleground stocks like Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
, which dropped late Wednesday on earnings.

If so, it might be time for a look at Ranger Equity Bear ETF
, which bets against certain stocks and can serve as a hedge – as its ticker suggests — for long positions.

Analysts expect strong results from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc.
after the bell Wednesday, but how the maker of Keurig coffee makers and K-cup single-serving coffee pods is faring against competition from private-label brands will be of paramount importance to investors.

Repeatedly, the stock has confounded short sellers with shares gaining 90% this year alone, even after losing K-cup patent protection this past September. While short positions have gotten squeezed, about 21% of outstanding shares are still shorted, according to FactSet.

What a roller coaster ride for Green Mountain Coffee Roaster\’s
stock. Just a year ago the stock was getting crushed after two company insiders faced margin calls.

Now, shares are trading near levels last seen in May 2011 after Green Mountain\’s latest quarterly report drove the stock up 24% to $73.76 midday Thursday.

Bulls are pointing to the K-Cup maker\’s gross margin as well as free cash flow, something Green Mountain has sorely lacked the past four years and one reason investors had shorted the stock in the past. (Keep in mind Green Mountain has cut its capital expenditures forecast twice since Nov. 27 as it raises its fiscal 2013 free cash flow outlook to $300 million to $400 million).

Here\’s a stock move worth watching: On Thursday, the oft-volatile shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
traded above $50-a-share for the first time in nearly a year. In late morning action, the stock traded at $50.54, up 3%.

Green Mountain shares last closed above $50 in March 2012. Thereafter, the shares took a steep dive as the Keurig coffee-brewer maker cut guidance and director Bob Stiller got hit with a margin call, forcing him to sell off millions of shares and further pressuring the stock.

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